In the heart of Reykjavik, there is a wonderful museum called "Reyljavik 871 +/-2.
The title comes from the dating of a layer of volcanic ash, which predates virtually all archaeological evidence of settlement in Iceland. This tephrochronologically significant layer is known as the "Settlement Layer" and plays an important role in Viking Period archaeology in Iceland.
The museum grew out of excavations carried out in 2001, when the remains of a substantial Viking Age building were discovered. This forms the centrepiece of the museum, where the consolidated remains are in situ. The photo above gives a poor idea of the structure, as the thing is a devil of a job to photograph.
The second photo shows the enigmatic turf-built wall. It is not very substantial, and so may have been a boundary wall, but it is overlain by (and therefore predates) the "settlement Layer". This makes it the earliest human-built structure so far discovered in Iceland.
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